Awakening

“Huh, where am I?”

Looking around, I see a table with a mirror, and a window that is locked behind a fence. Getting up, I see I was on an all-white bed with matching sheets and pillow. Approaching the mirror, my appearance looks very youthful, close to a very young teen.

Lightly touching my brown hair, what catches my eyes are some spots on my neck.

“What the?!”

The spots appear bulbous, red like a rash. I carefully guide my finger on top of them. Immediately a sharp pain presents itself.

“Ow!”

The area throbs a few times, with each wave making my eyes tear up. Rubbing my eyes, I notice my clothes look very plain. A matching light green shirt and pants covers me. In fact, looking down, I see my feet covered in pure white socks covering my feet.

“What is this place? Is this home? Who am I?”

Scratching my head, a noise comes from the only door behind me.

Creak

The door opens and coming through is a tall woman with blonde hair wearing a lab coat. What strikes me is her stare, very serious and unfriendly.

“You’re awake now. Great.” The nurse says nonchalantly.

“Excuse me, but where am I?”

“You’re in a psychiatric hospital for evaluation, but don't worry, you’re safe here. We need to make sure you’re safe not only yourself but around others.”

No words are said from me, but just a few cracks in my voice to understand my surroundings.

“Did I hurt somebody?”

The woman in front of me shakes her head.

“No, but we found you acting strange. You were wandering around town like a zombie. But rest assured, you’re okay.”

She begins immediately writing something on a clipboard she brings up.

“Well, what about these spots on my neck? They hurt a lot.” I point towards the spots on my neck, feeling a slight wave of pain from the area.

“Oh those, we had to put some medicine in you to calm you down. The moment a few people grabbed you, you became hysterical.”

The woman writes more on her clipboard.

“Okay, if those people got hurt, I apologize. Um, if this is a hospital, where’s my family? I don’t even remember their faces; please can you help?”

I step forward towards the woman, grabbing her coat. She yanks me off of her quickly, she scowls and shakes her head.

“Amaya, you need to understand one thing. You’re here to feel better, that’s it. The moment you are better, we’ll release you to your family, okay?”

With no choice, I nod lightly.

“Yes ma’am. I just don’t remember even coming here at all. Can you at least give me your name so I can remember one thing from now on?”

The woman’s demeanor lightens, sighing and rubbing her eyes.

“You can call me Doctor Tanaka. Just wait here and everyone from their rooms will be let out. You can mingle with the others by then.”

“Okay.” I say softly.

“Good, now wait here. You’ll hear a buzzer and hopefully you behave well.”

Doctor Tanaka leaves and abruptly shuts the metal door. My nerves feel like they’re popping out of my skin, leaving me to get in bed and rub my arms and legs. My breathing begins to get a bit faster, as I lay my head in my pillow.

Every breath is in a pattern, leaving my nerves still standing.

“Okay, you’ll be okay. Just calm down.”

My own words help me relax my skin; my arms and legs begin to calm down. All the tension leaves me, as I stare blankly at the ceiling.

I look at the shining light, covered on some sphere to make it less blinding. The paint throughout the top of my room has unique swirls, even though it’s all one white color. Squirting my eyes, it looks like the swirls are waving at me.

“Huh?” I rub my eyes and squint towards the ceiling, seeing nothing moving at all. Looking all over, I see nothing at all weird. But my eyes found something unusual in the corner of the ceiling. Walking across my room, a grey rectangle box is peeking through the corner of the wall.

“What kind of hospital is this?” Muttering to myself.

The closer I got, the larger its form became, it began shaking as a large circle erupts from its center. Afraid, I stepped back as the circle pops out and inverts in itself to become a sphere. Like an eyelid, the outer frame lifts up revealing a clean eye.

“Uh, someone help!”

The walls beside me all begin to erode, nothing but cracks form and the paint begin to grow darker. My back reaches the fenced window, feeling the cold metal against my head. Turning around, I try to move the fence but it’s no use. Screws along the sides hold it down.

The large eye slither around the ceiling like a snake, blinking with its grey cover. Its large pupil staring down my soul.

“Leave me alone!”

I grab my head and close my eyes, not wanting to stare at its features anymore. I even begin to bang my head back a few times, as tears run down my face.

“Someone, please help me!”

Despite my cries, no one comes for me. My room has become a nightmare for me, my heart pumps faster than I ever felt. All I even hear is my own breathing, no one to hear me.

My fingernails grab the side of my head, unable to face what's in front of me. Lifting my eyes carefully, I see nothing.

In fact, the entire room has become normal again. I get up and look around, feeling the wall and looking at the ceiling. It’s all back to how it was and even the rectangular box in the corner of the room.

Quickly rubbing my eyes, my tears are wiped away. Although my heart is beating a lot, my room is normal once again.

Bzzzz

Turning around, the door to my room is unlocked. Taking steps out, I prepare to see what awaits me and the other people in this hospital. I walk further out into the blinding light, making my eyes blind from its brightness.